Choices
by ebnovotny
Summary: Oneshot. Troy never meant for it to happen. Now he has choices to make.


Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just put them in compromising positions.

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He never meant for it to happen.

Troy only wanted to blow off a little steam.

He used his father's key to get into the gym once everyone had left the school. He stepped onto the wooden floor, basketball in hand, his mind reeling.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she had left him. The one person who mattered to him most walked out of his life. Nothing he said or did stopped her departure. And now, she wanted him back. Not 24 hours later, she left him a voicemail, begging for forgiveness.

"Hey, Troy. It's me," her voice said as he listened to the message. "I-…I was really hoping we could talk. I think…I think I've made a huge mistake. I miss you. I'm so sorry, I-…I love you. Please call me back. Please."

Troy shot the basketball at the hoop and missed, much to his dismay. He made several more unsuccessful attempts before hurtling the ball across the gym in anger. He clenched his jaw and stood there, seething for a few minutes.

He didn't know what to do. She had hurt him so deeply, and yet, he still loved her so much. How could he choose the right response to her sudden message? How could he take her back when she smashed him into a million pieces like she did? How could he not take her back when he loved her so much? It wasn't an easy choice to make.

He closed his eyes and imagined their last conversation, playing it again in his head as if he were watching a movie. _More like a train wreck_, he thought.

_They stood on opposite sides of his truck, just looking at each other. She, with tears in her eyes, told him that she had to leave._

_"It's time to stop pretending, Troy," she said. "I have to grow up."_

_"Let's grow up together…grow old together. Remember?" he begged, his voice desperate._

_She shook her head. "I can't."_

_"Is this because of him?" he asked, anger now filling his tone. His hands gripped the driver's side door of the beat up truck._

_Her chin trembled as she just looked back at him, not saying a word. But the look on her face spoke volumes to him. It screamed the answer at him as if he should have known all along._

_"He's not right for you. He's arrogant and self-absorbed. He's more of a child than I am. He—"_

_"He's your best friend!" she yelled, cutting him off. He just shook his head at her, backing away from the truck._

_"Not anymore."_

_She moved toward him slowly and he froze in the street. "Troy, please. Don't do this. You know things haven't been the same between us since graduation." She stopped when she reached him, bringing her hands up to cup his face._

_"I can fix it," he whispered, his voice trembling._

_She shook her head. "It's too late." He closed his eyes tightly, hot tears finally rolling down his cool cheeks, frozen by the chilly November air._

_"But…I love you."_

_She just looked up into his eyes, her own darting back and forth between them as she tried to find the right words._

_"I love you," he repeated, but it was no use. She dropped her hands from his face and looked down at the street beneath them._

_"I'm sorry, Troy."_

_She got onto her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, lingering for a small moment before turning and walking away, going into her house and shutting the door without looking back._

Troy closed his eyes tightly and shook the images from his head, trying to forget the previous evening's events. Her message, which he received just two hours prior to entering the gym, left him stunned. He clenched his fists and began to breathe heavily, frustrated by the game she was playing. He felt so conflicted. Despite trying with all of the will power he had, an image of her and his best friend together, tangled and embracing, filled his mind.

He opened his mouth to let out a scream when a noise coming from the hallway forced him to stop abruptly. He widened his eyes and listened closely, afraid that someone else might be in the school. He heard it again and was taken aback when he realized what he was hearing.

Singing.

It was coming from the direction of the auditorium. Troy knew that he recognized the voice, but he couldn't quite place it. He followed the singing through the halls and towards the backdoor to the stage. He pulled it open quietly, not wanting to startle the singer.

He was shocked when he saw a familiar blonde center stage, belting her heart out, her back to him as she faced the empty auditorium. He hadn't seen her since mid-June. They shared a strange good-bye and, yet, he had thought of it every day since.

_He opened his front door in the middle of the night to find her standing there, mascara streaming down her face. His first reaction was to ask her what the hell she was doing there, but something stopped him. He pulled her into a tight embrace instead, holding her close as she sobbed into his shoulder._

_She pulled back and looked up into his eyes for a brief moment before getting onto her toes and putting her lips against his. He didn't fight it, as he thought he should. He simply kissed her back. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled a small smile, one he had never seen on her face before._

_"Good-bye, Bolton," was all she said before turning and walking briskly back to her pink convertible._

Troy watched her sing now and felt his lips tingle with that one kiss. Before he could stop himself, he slowly walked towards her, his feet moving of their own accord.

Her song finished before he reached her and he slipped his hands to her waist, causing her to gasp, loudly. She froze as he pressed his body into her, as he buried his nose in her wavy blonde hair.

"'Pay," was all he whispered and he suddenly felt her relax in his arms.

She turned to face him and they looked into each other's eyes for mere moments before their lips met in a fierce embrace. Troy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as her tongue slipped out of her mouth and into his. He moaned and willed his body to slow down, but it wouldn't listen.

The pair gripped at each other's clothes and bodies, passion radiating from them. Sharpay jumped up and he caught her with ease. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles and causing him to moan in pleasure again.

He skillfully backed her to the wall, using it for support as he worked to remove her ridiculously pink shirt. The neck of it ripped in the process, but she didn't seem to mind. His mouth was attached to her neck before the shirt hit the ground and she worked to remove his t-shirt without breaking the contact.

He reluctantly pulled away so that she could remove his shirt. He shivered as she ran her hands up his chest, down his back, and back up with her nails. She smiled and went up his back again, harder this time. A hiss escaped his lips and he looking into her eyes, fire in his own.

He felt excruciatingly hard against her warmth and he tried as hard as he could to keep himself from ripping all of her clothes off. She felt it, too, and she reached down between their bodies to rub him through his pants. He groaned and buried his face in her neck to stifle the sound. She managed to undo his jeans and pull them down enough so that he could be free from the restraining denim.

He looked into her eyes for a moment before reaching towards her skirt with one hand, his fingers pushing her panties aside and entering her, more violently than he meant to. She gasped, but then moaned, clenching herself around his fingers.

Troy removed his fingers and was inside of her quickly, thrusting himself into her. She let out a cry of pleasure and buried her hands in his hair as he began to fuck her against the brick wall of the auditorium.

They moved together with ease for what felt like an eternity before they both came and sank to the stage floor, sweating and breathing heavily. He held her close and kissed the top of her head over and over, his eyes closed.

They rested, tangled together, for a long time before either one of them spoke.

"That was…incredible," she whispered, shaking her head.

He nodded, finally opening his eyes to stare up at the stage lighting above. "Yeah…"

She turned her head to look up at him now, her brow furrowed. She looked so small and fragile, vulnerable. He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her lips softly. It was the most tender thing they ever shared up until that point.

Troy rested his head against the floor of the stage again and his mind went to Gabriella, remembering her message and the reconciliation she wanted. He looked down at Sharpay and felt conflicted again.

"So…what now, Bolton?" she asked as she rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow, looking at him.

He looked into her eyes and found that he now had to make a choice—between Gabriella and Sharpay. He had to choose between the girl he had always loved and who left, and the girl who he knew he could love, who was now here at his side.

Troy had to make a choice. It would be the most difficult choice of his life…so far.


End file.
